The Montreal Canadiens are almost there.
On Tuesday in Boston, the Canadiens will complete the most treacherous stretch of their season, a run of 16 games in 28 days that began Nov. 26 in Utah. And with the team’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, the Canadiens enter that game in Boston with an 8-5-2 record over this stretch.
Only one other team in the NHL has played 15 games since Nov. 26, and it is the team the Canadiens faced that night, the Utah Mammoth. After a 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets Sunday, the Mammoth are 6-9-0 over the same stretch.
The Canadiens have essentially only practiced at morning skates for a month. They had a few mini crises, but managed to avoid them becoming full-blown like what they went through last season.
No matter what happens in Boston on Tuesday, the Canadiens will have navigated this part of their schedule well, because anything above a .500 points percentage when playing more than a game every two days for nearly a month should be considered a success. And right now they are sitting at .600 after 15 games.
Coach Martin St. Louis didn’t seem overly disappointed with the result in Pittsburgh on Sunday, and acknowledged that details are harder to execute on a back-to-back. Of course, the Penguins were also on a back-to-back, but this was their 11th game in December, while it was the Canadiens’ 12th. That might not seem like a big difference, but it is.
The Canadiens, however, still have work to do. Despite how encouraged St. Louis was with his team’s defensive play last week, the Canadiens’ performance at five-on-five in certain key defensive metrics was no better last week than it was in the two previous weeks. And overall, this stretch has seen a dip in several of those metrics, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Canadiens defensively at 5v5
Game No.
CA/60
SA/60
GA/60
XGA/60
HDCA/60
1-21
56.18
24.93
2.77
2.49
10.42
22-36
59
25.46
2.61
3
13.79
Now, a lot of that’s to be expected with such an insane schedule, and perhaps that’s a fair and reasonable explanation. But the one thing that has improved remarkably when comparing the first 21 games to the last 15 has been the goaltending; at five-on-five, the Canadiens went from an .889 save percentage over their first 21 games to .897 over their last 15, which explains why they are allowing fewer goals despite giving up more high quality chances.
Notably, Sam Montembeault has only started two games since Nov. 26, and the arrival of Jacob Fowler, along with improved play from fellow rookie Jakub Dobeš, has helped enormously. When the Canadiens talked about the benefit of gaining experience for Fowler when they called him up, the fan reaction to him being named first star after collecting his first career shutout and the Canadiens’ first shutout of the year in a 4-0 home win against the Penguins might be what they were hoping for.
Déjà hâte de revenir à Montréal en 2026
Can’t wait to be back at the Bell Centre in 2026#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/aNt6wAvLDo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 21, 2025
“It’s crazy,” Fowler said. “I feel like it’s pretty undeserved, I haven’t really done much here. It’s kind of addicting, you want to hear it more and more.”
Fowler will get the start in Boston in a building he knows well, having played in the Beanpot there during his time at Boston College, and a city where he still has lots of friends and loved ones. Another incredible experience for the 21-year-old goaltender who is making the most of this opportunity.
So, that’s a positive, but there’s still work to do as a team. It’s much more pleasant doing that work while you’re getting results, and the Canadiens woke up Monday morning two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for first in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand. Considering their schedule, that is a massive win.
Suzuki adjusting to his new reality
The Canadiens were carried Sunday night by the line of Juraj Slafkovský, Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov. St. Louis called them his best line.
After Zack Bolduc had what was hoped to be a breakout night Thursday with two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks, it was a bit more of a timid weekend for the top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Bolduc. They remain a work in progress, and Sunday night in particular was not satisfactory in Suzuki’s eyes.
“I just thought my line wasn’t very good,” he told reporters in Pittsburgh. “We definitely need to be better than that … I think if we were better, we could have won.”
The underlying numbers suggest Suzuki and Caufield are doing fine without Slafkovský, and they also suggest Slafkovský’s new line with Kapanen and Demidov is struggling. The eye test tells a different story, however. While Bolduc is improving in his new role on the top line, there remains an adjustment to be made. And despite the metrics showing a line that is getting buried, the Slafkovský line is thriving.
Slafkovský has always seen himself as a playmaker above all else. Yes, he’s a large man, and he needs to use that to his advantage, and he’s learned that and accepted it. But now he’s getting a chance to do some more playmaking, and it is clear he feels he is in his natural habitat when he has the puck on his stick making seam passes for one-timer goals.
Combien de buts pour ce trio avant d’appeler ça une tradition?
Be merry and enjoy this goal from Ivan Demidov#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/udvFSX664O
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 22, 2025
Hutson’s comfort on the left side
Since Adam Engström’s entry into the lineup on Dec. 11, his ability to play the right side as a left shot — something he did regularly in Laval and in Sweden — has allowed the Canadiens to move Hutson back to his natural left side.
“I feel comfortable on both, but sometimes pucks find you a bit more on your strong side because pucks are easier to get to,” Hutson said Tuesday morning before facing the Philadelphia Flyers. “I think everyone prefers being on their natural side…(but) I don’t think it’s held me back in any way. Sometimes there will be a puck you know you can’t get to because you know you’re on your backhand and it’s not even worth it. And maybe it’s better to stay anyway. But I feel good on either side.”
In seven games since making the switch back to the left side, Hutson has 10 assists, the Canadiens have outscored their opponents 10-4 and outshot them 70-45 at five-on-five with him on the ice. His 10 assists over that span are third in the NHL, behind only Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, and his 10 points are tied for sixth in the league.
How teammates viewed Demidov’s mean streak
When Flyers defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen blew up Slafkovský in the neutral zone on Tuesday night, Demidov made a beeline for Ristolainen, challenging him with a cross-check while sneakily kicking Ristolainen’s skates out from under him at the same time. Demidov continued going after Ristolainen, cross-checking him two more times in an attempt to engage him, something Ristolainen did not do in his first NHL game since March.
Ristolainen drops Slafkovsky, and then Demidov goes after him. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/deYDsOVJ24
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 17, 2025
The Flyers got a power play out of it, and it is worth noting Ristolainen’s hit was perfectly clean.
Still, Demidov’s reaction got a reaction in the room, and no one was more excited about it than his buddy Hutson.
“I loved it,” Hutson said. “He’s such a skilled player. To do that it shows that he really cares about the team and it’s not about him. It was really cool to see that, and I’m glad that Ristolainen didn’t get up and try anything.”
It should be noted that Hutson has somewhat of a history as a skilled player doing stuff like this. In the final minute of the gold medal game of the 2024 world junior championships, Hutson did this.
Things are getting heated between USA and Sweden at the end of the Gold Medal game 😳#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/avk1HrOYJ8
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2024
That was Detroit Red Wings prospect Anton Johansson, 6 feet 4 and 200 pounds, who was playing his first shift of the game in a blowout loss. Hutson was having none of it.
And so, with that moment and Demidov’s moment Tuesday, there is a bank of information to work with here.
“Now we know we’ve both got it a little bit,” Hutson said with a laugh. “Hopefully we don’t need it, but we’ve got it.”
Next there’s Kapanen, Demidov’s centre, who was curling back toward the defensive zone because the Flyers had the puck and were heading that way as well.
“I saw it, but I kept playing because the puck was coming to our end, so I was like, should I go there or go with the puck?” Kapanen said. “I decided to go with the puck. I trust Demi that he would handle that.”
He trusted Demidov would handle that? Against a massive man like Ristolainen?
“A Finn’s not going to drop the gloves,” said Kapanen, a Finn.
But there was more to it.
“I think he has that,” Kapanen said. “He has some Russian power in him. I think he could pull off something.”
There is one thing both Hutson and Kapanen mentioned that is highly relevant. They both noted Arber Xhekaj was on the ice at the time, which added to the sense of security. And if you watch the video, the whole thing was unfolding right in front of Xhekaj as he was preparing to defend the impending Flyers rush opportunity, too.
“I was trying to play while keeping an eye on that,” Xhekaj said. “The puck was coming in on a rush, so I’m watching that, but I’m also thinking, ‘What is Demi doing? Where’s he going?’ Sometimes you need eyes in the back of your head.”
The thing is, Demidov was moving farther and farther away from Xhekaj as he followed Ristolainen deep into the Flyers zone. Still, Xhekaj was confident he would be able to close the distance quickly.
“I would have been there really fast,” he said. “I was just trying to watch the play and watch that at the same time, and be close enough to where if he were to turn around on Demi, I would be there.
“But I love it. I love when guys stick up for each other. It’s good to see.”